Catching Up!

I fell behind on the blog due to the new job. The following posts are from the victory over LVC and the loss at Albright. Hopefully, I can stay on it from here on out (that's what she said!)

From the E-town College Website:

Blue Jays Work Overtime for Seventh Straight Win, Down LVC 74-66

1/13/2010 10:15:36 PM

Box score

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Mike Church scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Elizabethtown College overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Lebanon Valley College 74-66 in overtime in Commonwealth Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Thompson Gymnasium.

Joe Flanagan added 18 points, including two foul shots with 32.8 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 62-62 and force overtime, while Keith Fogel contributed 16 points and seven assists as the Blue Jays (11-3 overall, 3-1 Commonwealth) earned their seventh straight victory.

Dan Dunkelberger led the Flying Dutchmen (6-7 overall, 2-2 Commonwealth) with 17 points and eight rebounds, but Lebanon Valley went just 1-for-6 from the field in overtime and was outscored 12-4 by Elizabethtown in the extra period.

Lebanon Valley led for most of the first half and held a 29-25 advantage at intermission behind eight points from Dunkelberger. Church led Elizabethtown with 10 points and five rebounds in the opening half while Flanagan chipped in with six points.

The Dutchmen expanded their four-point halftime lead to seven as Sean MacIntosh drilled three three-pointers in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half to give Lebanon Valley a 38-31 lead. The Blue Jays crept within two at 42-40 on a basket by Bryan Harrity with 14:33 left, but following a Jordan Stewart bucket for the Dutchmen with 14:12 remaining, the game was delayed for 15 minutes as the gymnasium lights were inadvertently preprogrammed to shut off at 9:00 p.m.

When play resumed, the Dutchmen ran their lead out to 11 points at 55-44 on a basket by Joe Meehan with 9:34 remaining. Trailing 60-53 with 6:32 to go, the Blue Jays stormed back as Church scored four points and Harrity three to bring Elizabethtown within 62-60 with 2:20 to go.

After Flanagan hit the tying free throws with 32.8 seconds to play, Meehan's potential game-winning jumper was off the mark with one second left, sending the teams to overtime. Flanagan gave the Blue Jays the lead for good with 3:06 left on a three-pointer, and the Blue Jays went 5-for-6 from the foul line in the final 1:16 to seal the win.

Harrity finished with nine points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Blue Jays, while Stewart led all Dutchmen reserves with 10 points to go with five rebounds and six steals.

For the game, the Blue Jays shot 52 percent (26-for-50) from the field but went just 2-for-14 from three-point range. Elizabethtown finished 20-for-24 at the foul line while Lebanon Valley hit just 9-of-13 attempts.

With the win, Elizabethtown maintains a four-way tie atop the Commonwealth Conference standings with Albright College, Alvernia University and Lycoming College joining the Blue Jays at 3-1. Elizabethtown plays at Albright on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. while Alvernia plays at Messiah College and Lycoming travels to Arcadia University.

Blue Jay Win Streak Snapped at Albright, 59-58

1/16/2010 6:44:29 PM

Box score

READING, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College had its seven-game winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon as host Albright College edged the Blue Jays 59-58 in a Commonwealth Conference men's basketball contest at the Bollman Center.

The Blue Jays (11-4 overall, 3-2 Commonwealth) lost for the first time since Dec. 2 to Alvernia University, despite having two chances for the winning basket in the final seconds against the Lions (13-2 overall, 4-1 Commonwealth). With the win, Albright moved into a first-place tie atop the Commonwealth standings with Lycoming College while Elizabethtown fell into a deadlock for third place with Alvernia at 3-2.

Matt Ashcroft led Albright with 15 points, while Joe Flanagan paced the Blue Jays with 16 points and seven rebounds. Both teams struggled from the field, as the Lions shot 35.9 percent (23-for-64) for the afternoon while the Blue Jays hit 32.7 percent (18-for-55) from the floor.

Albright led 59-58 following a layup by Keith Fogel with 18 seconds left, but the Lions' Andre Murphy missed two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to give the Blue Jays a chance at stealing the win. Flanagan missed a three-pointer with eight seconds left, and Mike Church misfired on a follow-up shot with five seconds remaining to allow the Lions to escape with the victory.

A three-pointer by the Lions' Adam Van Zelst with 7:57 left gave Albright the lead for good at 41-38, an advantage that grew to 52-45 following a three-pointer by Zac Shaeffer with 3:48 to play. A key three-pointer by Ashcroft pushed the Lions ahead 57-52 with 1:02 to play, but the Blue Jays pulled within three when Mark Vogel hit two foul shots with 33 seconds left.

After an Albright turnover, Flanagan connected on two free throws with 29 seconds left to bring the Blue Jays within 57-56. Shaeffer responded with two free throws with 27 seconds to go to restore the Lions' three-point lead before Fogel's basket cut the deficit to one. Fogel finished with 11 points, five rebounds and six assists for Elizabethtown while Church added 14 points, six boards and four blocked shots.

Albright led 22-21 with 3:48 left in the first half following a three-pointer by Church, but the Lions scored the final eight points of the half - including back-to-back three-pointers by Ashcroft and Shaeffer - to go ahead 30-21 at intermission. Ashcroft led all players with eight points in the first half while Flanagan paced the Blue Jays with six points.